User Reviews

Reviews by SilentSabre:

3.3/5 rDev -13.6%

I have mixed feelings over this place. Selection was certainly better than average and I *did* walk away with a 4pk of KBS. However, there's really no rhyme or reason to anything in this place with beer just sort of stacked where ever and I found it really easy to overlook stuff in there. Also, there are quite a few things in there that while sturdy enough to handle the amount of time they had on them, indicated to me that there were likely just as many that were long past their prime. Having said that, if you're in the immediate area around NC State and don't want to stray far off, this place would certainly satisfy you. If you don't mind driving a bit, head over to Durham and pay Sam's Blue Light a visit.

My go-to shop. First of all, i won't reiterate all the little details of everything that's been said. Good selection with a mix of locals, rergionals, some harder to find stuff, and a pretty sizable European lineup. I found a dusty old Catillon Rose de Gambrinus tucked behind some bottles the other day...this is the sort of place thats somewhat disorganized, but if you spend some time looking you will find something really nice. I agree that age is definitely an issue, so yes, check bottle dates when necessary. Also saw some Saison Duponts sitting on a top shelf in direct sunlight the other day...ouch.

I've never found the staff to be particularly unhelpful or unkind. A couple of the guys who work there know a thing or two about beer, and the others aren't necessarily rude...they just aren't beer nerds. Actually, I got there too late for this year's Hopslam release, and the dude who was working knew that I had been coming in every couple of days to try to catch it. He isn't particularly big into beer, but he had stashed himself a case because he figured it had to be good with all of the crazies beating down the door to get it. Without batting an eye, he sold me a 6-pack out of his own personal stash when he saw me come in that afternoon. For that, customer service gets a big score bump in my book.

I've gone to Peace Street somewhat regularly for some time now. At this point, it honestly seems to me that their reputation as one of the better beer stores in Raleigh is bloated by it's proximity to downtown, and based largely on the store it used to be, particularly before Pop the Cap. Since then, as I've seen other beer stores get better and better, Peace Street has gotten steadily worse...in terms of selection, service, and quality.

For starters, if I ever dare to ask the employees if they have something, they most likely wont even know, and if I insult them enough to ask them when some limited beer might arrive, they look at me like I just pissed in their cornflakes.

As for selection, it's decent, but I feel that's more due to downtown bars getting the local distributor to bring good bottles, and Peace Street just gets the leftovers, and they sell a lot of beer and get priority over several stores. However, regardless of the reason, they do carry some nice, obscure things from all over, including Europe, as well as a solid selection of locals, even including some growlers from Craggie.

Additionally, I have noticed that a lot of the beers they sell usually run about a dollar more than College Beverage or even Whole Foods down the street.

This is the place I go to most often for beer. I've noticed some comparisons to Sam's in Durham, but IMO it's not an even tradeoff. However, since I live here, 9 times out of 10 it's worth saving the driving time to go to Peace Street unless I'm looking for something I know is harder to find.

Their selection is pretty good, a lot of different breweries represented. They offer an odd assortment of beers from some of the breweries (e.g. I've seen some where they don't have half of the mainline brews but they'll have seasonals and limited stuff). One big positive of this place is that they have a huge amount of cold storage relative to the total amount of beer available. At least two thirds of their beer is in cold storage.

I'm always a little bit nervous about freshness because it seems like nothing changes when I go there, but I've bought Victory Storm King and Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot in hopes that they would be pre-aged, but both were within a month of bottling, so other than the four pack of Founders Cerise still sitting in the cooler, I don't have much real reason to worry about freshness. I won't buy IPAs there without dates though just in case.

The employees/owners seem to be nice people that enjoy good beer. I haven't really asked them for help, but I've had a couple good chats at the checkout line.

Solid beer store across the board, and It'll continue to be my go to beer store as long as it's this much closer to me than Sam's.

I don't know why it took me so long to find this place but I finally stopped in by chance while passing by today. I thought I'd heard about it here so I figured I'd give it a shot. It's not a place that would have you thinking craft beer if you drove by but that is their business.

There's a decent selection on the shelves that face you when you walk in but that's only the tip of the iceberg. There's a cooler that pretty much wraps around half of the building. I was very impressed at how much they keep refrigerated.

They carry lots of NC and other east coast beers. But they also have a nice selection of western beers including Stone, Green Flash, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Avery, etc. I picked up a couple of sixes of Sweetwater IPA which is relatively new to the area and a favorite of my wife's.

Most of the beer is in six packs but they also have a decent selection of 22s and 750s. They don't seem to split the six packs but I didn't ask.

Peace Street is definitely an alternative to Sam's in Durham. I wouldn't say it's as good with the Europeans but it's well worth a visit.

They had some Atlanta Brewing Co beers on clearout price earlier this year. Only 2.99 or 3.99 a 6-pack. As someone who has missed ABC I was eager to grab some. As you might expect for such a low price the beer wasn't exactly fresh. However it was not only fresh, it was 2 or 3 months past the "best by" dates on the cases.

I was going to grab a 6 pack of each variety they were offering (a case in total) and I ask him if I open one beer and I find it unsatisfactory if I can return the beer for a refund.
After initially saying yes hes feeds me some BS about what the beer is going to be like (basically describing every off feature about old or skunked beer) and then says, no, he doesn't want to offer me a refund if the beer is bad, because that would be "too complicated".
Scam artist.

My last stop on my short visit to Raleigh; it was either this place or a couple of Total Wines. I'm glad I stopped in. This is basically your average convenience except with mounds of beer piled inside.

It's obvious that a lot of this stuff has sat on shelves/in coolers for awhile, so I'd certainly hesitate before grabbing some of the hoppier brews. Lots of boxes and dust and racks filled with beer, completely disorganized, probably lessening the turnover rate.

Service was non-existence, and I can't say I expected much else as I browsed beer in the midst of Fritos, Spam, and motor oil.

Great selection. Great representation of Belgians (Trappist stuff, De Proef, St. Bernardus) with a healthy dose of English and German beers thrown in as well. Loads of stuff from typical American brewers such as Victory, Left Hand, Gordon Biersch, Lagunitas, Stone, Founders, Abita, and more. Lots of refrigerated sixers with a couple of shelves full of bombers. A few rarities to be found, though I wish more selections would've been available as singles. Definitely a stop I wouldn't mind making again next time I'm in town.

Prices were quite decent, in some cases better than some of the same items at grocery stores.

I stopped in last weekend for the first time in a long while, and I was pleasantly surprised. The store seemed cleaner and better organized than what I remember. And at least with the beers I was looking at, they seemed to be much fresher than in the past. While PSM can't match Sam's Quik Mart for overall selection, they do have about the same amount of cooler space for craft beers, so it's a good place to go if you want something already chilled. The prices were reasonable - maybe slightly less than Sam's or Whole Foods, but slightly more than a grocery store. All in all, it's a great store if you happen to be in the neighborhood and want a wide selection of craft & import beers. Sure the service isn't great, but the staff can usually help you find something if they happen to stock it. Thanks to BA, I already know what I'm looking for when I beer shop, so I'm not relying of store staff to help me pick a beer anyway.

I try to get in here at least once a month. The drive to Sam's has gotton a little harder to do on a regular basis. If we didn't have Sam's to compare to, I would think PSM (otherwise known as 7-Even) would be ranked a pretty good beer store.

Service depends on who's working. There's really only 1 weekend guy that drinks what he sells.

Prices are usually very good, beating WF by 10% or so. Selection is much better than WF as well - but not as good as Sam's. Rotation has become better over the years and I don't see as much dead product in there as I used to.

Latest marketing move is to have a big special running on at least one beer, usually stacked near the cash register.

Usually has most of the beers available in bottles made in NC. If you are passing through, definitely worth a stop.

I hadn't been to Peace Street market for a couple of years until today. I went specifically looking for Duck-Rabbit Wee Heavy Scotch Ale... after several unfruitful trips to other local stores, I finally found some. I also picked up a 4-pack of North Coast's Stock Ale from 2007... hope this one has kept well.

I didn't talk to the guy behind the counter until after I had made my selection, but he seemed friendly enough. There was a wide array of seasonals available (both Oktoberfests and pumpkin ales), as well as the first Black Chocolate Stout I've seen this year.

Most of the 4/6-packs were stored in the refrigerated section, while a good number of singles (mostly bombers) sat out on the shelves. A minor deduction for the relative scarcity of sub-bomber sized singles.

Still, when I don't have time for a drive to Durham, this is a worthy stop to fill the beer needs.

Located off from one of the main roads in Raleigh proper, this place looks very unassuming from the outside. Walking in the front door, just to the right is a shelf full of Belgians. Yes!

Three of the four walls in this building, three of them are lined with coolers, two of which are dedicated to beer & ale. The selection of American micros and craft beer is very good, as well as seasonals and specials. Also very good is the selection of imports from primarily the UK and surrounding areas therein. If the American macro brews are your forte, they have you covered there as well.

If you happen to be shopping with your loving spouse who doesn't necessarily share your enthusiasm for fine ale, Peace Street Market also has a reasonable wine selection that highlights many of the local area wineries as well as selections from other smaller domestic wineries.

The staff was helpful, if not fully knowledgeable regarding selections available in the store. Regardless of their ability to recite beer history, when I asked if they had "Fraoch Ale", the gentleman behind the counter walked me directly to it in the cooler.

This is probably the best selection of singles that I have found in the area although there are some other choices. Another nice thing about Peace Street Market is that most of the singles are in the cooler and ready to go. Check it out.

So during my 2-year sojourn in Raleigh this was clearly the closest (I could walk if I put my mind to it) "good" place to buy good bottles. A bit odd (but then again, so is the rest of Raleigh) -- sort of reminds one of an old gas station convenience store, without the petrol. Odd assortment of tons of styles and labels, haphazardly placed amongst Fosters cans and Miller High Life -- I can't tell you how many hours I wasted in there simply trying to figure out what all they had. Lots of Belgian and German specialty treats, as well as harder-to-find American micro's.

Always more expensive than they should have been -- a half-hour trip to Sam's in Durham would put this place to shame for their prices, to say nothing of organizational skills, selection, and above all, SERVICE.

I started avoiding PSM because the guy working there fussed at me for making notes to myself on prices and selections -- what gives?

As part of my "Raleigh Tour '07" when visiting for the World Beer Festival in Durham. Was taken here by NCBeerNut after a pint at the Flying Saucer. When I first walked in, I didn't expect much, seeing as how the outside is rather nondescript and right as you walk in there are cases of beer you could get anywhere. But upon turning to my right, my eyes became as wide as flying saucers.

I couldn't believe the selection.. some Jolly Pumpkin, all the great local NC stuff, some German and Belgian offerings I haven't seen anywhere in Virginia. All around awesome. Of course I copped some Terrapin Big Hoppy Monster and All American Imperial Pilsner (and I'm kicking myself for not buying more of it).

Prices were very reasonable. Even though I did drop a good amount of money, what I got was well worth it. Service was friendly, and it was a great beer buying experience. The only drawback I'd say is that a lot of the other stuff available is cold, with some not available warm. Being an out-of-towner, I had to opt for the warm stuff, as I didn't want it to keep changing temperature on my trip.

If you're ever in Raleigh, definitely hit Peace Street. Plus, there are spots like the Flying Saucer and the Mellow Mushroom (which I didn't have enough time to try!) very close by. Highly recommended.

Overall, the best selection in Raleigh. If a brewer distributes here, chances are they have it. Even the limited release and hard-to-find stuff. Two full walls of coolers, a section of shelves with mostly single bottles of Belgians and other imports, as well as some domestic bottles such as Rouge and Left Hand limited releases. Also, there are random displays and stacks of seasonally rotated stuff such as O-fests and what not. It would take years for even the heavy drinker to sample all of these. Most of the stuff in the cooler is dated. I have never had anything with an "off" taste or skunky beer from here. I took a BA here before the Durham WBF this past weekend and he ended up buying 140 bucks worth of stuff. The owner gave each of us a beer from his personal stash for our business. Although, their accents can be hard to understand to me, they seem to be pretty knowledgeable about their products. Definitely stop in if you get the chance.

Addition to this review: I recently went to Peace Street a couple weeks ago to pick up some Old Chub and it wasn't on the shelves. I asked about it and they spent about five minutes looking until they found some for me. A nice gesture. More than I would have expected.

This is without question the best selection in Raleigh. It is not quite up to Sam's in Durham, but still really good. The first thing I always check when I walk in the the non-cooled shelf of bombers and various European beers that is across the aisle from the coolers to the right as you walk in. Just about every brewery that distributes to this area is available here. There always seems to be a couple of beers that Whole Foods has but these guys don't (such as DFH Burton Baton and Olde School) but overall, the selection is better here. Like several other reviews have stated, this is a convenience store that happens to have a great selection of beer, but still a convenience store none the less. Prices are usually pretty great. Lefthand limited releases such as Smoke Jumper and Chainsaw are $8.99.

Good little store/market right along Peace Street in Raleigh. Nice selection of local brews, above average import selection. They get new and seasonal beers in regularly, probably on a weekly basis. The service is lackluster at best, as there never seems to be anyone around to help and the cashiers know very little about what's new and what will be coming into the store. Prices aren't bad, some imports are a bit over-priced but the local brews are very reasonable.

So far it's my favorite spot to hit in Raleigh for a high quality beer to bring home.

Odd little beer store. Swung by last night with my brother who is in town for the wedding. Cleanfeet was off on her bachelor party so we picked up a sixer of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and Storm King to keep us warm last night.

Located in a convenience store it reminded me of where I went for late night munchies in college. Kind of messy with boxes of munchies just kind of strewn about. Beer is in an asile and in coolers along two walls. No real surprises but some nice finds. If I had to describe the collection I would call it eclectic. Little bit of this and a little bit of that. Easy to find something that will satisfy but not a great place to be looking for something specific. Oddly, not a whole lot of local selections. Service was non-existent. I gave them average because they were not rude at least. They were just there to run my credit card. Would definitely go back if I am in the area.

Pulled into the empty lot next door as the spaces in front were full up late on a Saturday afternoon. Basically, three of the four walls are devoted to brew, with the first aisle of coolers devoted to the international and microbrewed stuff and deteriorating in quality as you move counterclockwise along the walls.

I was very impressed with the selection, with numerous unknown Belgians and local NC stuff and a good selection of English ale, including Wychwood, Black Sheep, Greene King, of course Sam Smith, Skullsplitter, and a previously unseen Welsh ale. They also had a good selection of mixed twelves, bombers from California (Avery, Great Divide, Mendocino, but unfortunately no Stone), and a wide ranging smattering of others.

Well, it is a convenience store, and in that vein, it's otherworldly from a beer perspective. As a beer store it's merely very good, which is enough for me. I'll be back on a regular basis.